


The Trouble With Love (AU)

by pieandangels



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-16
Updated: 2013-04-16
Packaged: 2017-12-08 16:58:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/763798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pieandangels/pseuds/pieandangels
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>written for deanbenny week</p>
    </blockquote>





	The Trouble With Love (AU)

**Author's Note:**

> written for deanbenny week

“Don’t forget to buy milk!” Benny called, grabbing a flannel button-down from his closet. Dean mumbled something back; he hadn’t had his coffee yet. They’d been roommates since college, thrown together sophomore year. Benny was going to med school at the University of Texas Southwest, and Dean was taking classes at the culinary school, working long hours at his aunt’s roadhouse.

Benny rolled his eyes at his housemate’s caffeine addiction and finished pulling on his clothes. He grabbed his trademark black cap, scrubbing a hand over his scruff as he walked into the kitchen. Dean was sitting at the table in navy boxers and his grey robe, staring absently into the mug of coffee in front of him.

Recently, things had been changing between Benny and Dean. In college, Dean was always going out, meeting people, partying his ass off and sleeping with everyone. He’d calmed down a lot lately though, and now he always had this goofy smile on his face. Benny barely knew how to describe it, but for some reason, it made his chest constrict.

He thought Dean might be in love.

Over the next few days, Dean was rarely home. He would shoot Benny texts, short and offhand, telling him to prepare dinner for one. He would come in past midnight, sober, but with flushed cheeks, mussed hair, and that damn Cheshire grin. Benny tried not to think about it, but there was a definite correlation between how late Dean was out and the number of rum-and-cokes Benny knocked back.

It was a Thursday evening, nearing 9, and Benny was mixing his first drink of the night when his phone buzzed.

hey i have news…dinner tomorrow?

Benny stared at it for a long moment. He wanted to spend more time with Dean, that was certain. They’d been instant friends when they met, and neither had really wavered in five years. Loyalty was a top priority for both of them. But Benny knew exactly what the news was. He didn’t want to hear it. He texted back:

Sounds great.

Without hesitation, Benny picked up the drink and finished it all in one swallow, mixing another while he waited for a reply.

awesome i’ll pick up chinese after work

He didn’t respond. His stomach started to twist, and he tried to ignore the discovery he had made three nights ago. He had been very drunk, sitting in the lopsided armchair they picked up for sixteen bucks at a garage sale senior year, and he started thinking about what it would mean if Dean really had met someone. Someone unique enough to quell the sadness that had lived in Dean for as long as Benny could remember. Someone beautiful enough to keep Dean’s attention. Someone…better.

When Benny realized he was in love with Dean, he wanted to hit something. Not because Dean was also a man, but because falling in love with his best friend - his brother - was just about the stupidest thing he could’ve done. Dean Winchester was untamable. He flitted from girl to girl, boy to boy, not caring about the trail of broken hearts that he left in his wake. Dean was a good, honest, hard-working man who earned every damn thing he had, but he was unstable in his romantic life. He couldn’t form attachments, and after so many years, Benny understood why. After all the loss Dean had experienced, it was no wonder the only people he really trusted were his brother, Sam, and Benny.

And this mystery person.

The next night, Benny sat in the armchair again, this time without a drink. He tapped his fingers against his thighs, trying not to stare at the clock or check his phone or calculate the exact number of minutes it ought to take Dean to get from the Roadhouse to Golden Dragon, pick up dinner, and home to their apartment. Just as he was beginning to get worried, a key turned in the lock, the door opened, and Dean stepped inside, carrying an overstuffed bag of Chinese take-out.

“Hey, man,” he said.

“How was work?” Benny asked. He followed Dean into the kitchen and grabbed two bowls from the sink, washing them quickly and handing them to his roommate.

“Long. Ellen said Bobby’s firing up the grill tomorrow, I told her we’d go.”

“Sounds good,” Benny agreed. He accepted a bowl of pork lo mein from Dean and they sat at the table. Dean took a few bites, then grabbed two beers from the fridge, placing one in front of Benny.

“Look, man, this is going to be tough to say, but I’ve got to say it,” Dean began. Benny nodded for Dean to continue, bracing himself. “I’m moving out at the end of the month.”

Benny felt like he had been punched in the sternum. “Why?” he managed.

“I met someone, and he wants me to move in with him.”

Benny paused for a moment. He knew Dean slept with men, but he always thought it was for the thrill. He assumed the person taking up all of Dean’s time was a woman. That wasn’t the important point, though.

“When did you meet him?” Benny asked.

“About two months ago. I know it’s early,” Dean said quickly when Benny opened his mouth to protest. There was a pregnant pause. Dean took a few more bites of food, and Benny downed half his beer.

“If things don’t work out, you can always move back in,” Benny said carefully. Dean smiled sadly.

“Thanks. It means a lot, but I think this is going to be long-term.”

“How do you know that?”

Dean hesitated for a moment. “How do you know you want to be a doctor?”

“I’ve told you. I see something in humanity that’s makes all this hell worthwhile.”

“Yeah. I see something in Cas that seems to, I don’t know, ease the tension.”

Benny had nothing left to say. They spent the rest of the meal in silence, and Benny excused himself to do some work as soon as Dean’s plate was clean. He sat on his bed, thinking hard. Keeping up with rent wouldn’t be too bad. He might have to start taking some more shifts at the lab eventually, but for now he was alright. It would be lonely. But that’s the trouble with love. Someone always ends up lonely.


End file.
